Online Bible Verses - Colossians 3:12 Try to Be
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12
“God’s chosen people”: Who does that refer to? Lots of debate amongst scholars, who are much more studied than I. I’ve seen viewpoints that might be assigned the term Calvinist. Believe the stance there relates to God having foreknowledge of those who would respond to His call; take it a step further and conclude He effectively chose them. Personally, I kind of think assigning that selective action on His part somewhat limits Him in a way. That being, combining His ability to transcend time with a human like limitation of locking Him into dictating our choice before we make it. In other words, trying to understand things on His level given our limited capacity. We are bound by five senses in the here and now, in concert with what we know has occurred in the past. We simply cannot understand like He does. Scripture tells us that we have an open opportunity to seek and know Him. Our potential choice, contingent upon free will, lies within the dimensional boundaries where we can act and understand.
And how should we act? With compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Easier said than done, as are most recipes for success. We stumble and fail at times for sure. Scripture also speaks of grace and forgiveness for those failures. It also speaks of repentance, in which we effectively turn away from habitual behaviors and hit the reset button; get back on track and pursue righteousness, while at the same time realizing it is His intercession that will allow us to work towards it. We have a target, which cannot be attained in and of ourselves while inhabiting flesh. It is, however, what we shoot for under His guidance. We can know how we should be, and try be that way. Knowing we sometimes fall short keeps the concept of grace at the forefront.
